0226516709

Compare book prices
at 110 online bookstores
worldwide for the lowest price for new & used textbooks and
discount books! 1 click to get great deals on cheap books, cheap
textbooks & discount college textbooks on sale.

Book Description

The Philosophy of the Present

George Herbert Mead (1863-1931) had a powerful influence on the development of American pragmatism in the twentieth century. He also had a strong impact on the social sciences. This classic book represents Mead's philosophy of experience, so central to his outlook.

The present as unique experience is the focus of this deep analysis of the basic structure of temporality and consciousness. Mead emphasizes the novel character of both the present and the past. Though science is predicated on the assumption that the present is predictable based on a thorough knowledge of the past, the experience of the present, says Mead, is an utterly unique moment comparable to no other, and when it is past the novel character of that unique experience is irrevocable.

The emergence of novelty within the perceived rational order of reality is the crux of the problem that Mead explores. The present, in his words, is "the emergent event . . . something which is more than the processes that have led up to it and which by its change, continuance, or disappearance, adds to later passages a content they would not otherwise have possessed." The present as "the seat of reality" heavily conditions our retrospective view of the past as much as it helps to shape the future. The novelty of every present experience causes us to reconstruct our preceding experiences to make sense of the past, which is naturally assumed to be the main cause of what we presently experience. Our perspective on reality is thus relative to the conditioning of each new event and it changes continuously as the effects of the present shift our view of the past and future.

This emphasis on the integrative, holistic nature of reality, in which everything past, present, and future is a condition of everything else, makes Mead's philosophy highly relevant to today's scientific picture of a quantum universe, where chance and probability play a role in the emergence of reality. Also of great interest is the way in which he extends his basic analysis of temporal-spatial reality to the emergence of mind and consciousness as a natural development of the evolutionary process.

This stimulating and provocative work attests to John Dewey's praise of Mead as "the most original mind in philosophy in America" of his generation.

The goal of this website is to help shoppers compare book prices from different
vendors / sellers and find cheap books and cheap college textbooks. Many discount
books and discount text books are put on sale by discounted book retailers and
discount bookstores everyday. All you need to do is to search and find them. This
site also provides many book links to some major bookstores for book details and
book coupons. But be sure not quickly jump into any bookstore site to buy. Always
click "Compare Price" button to compare prices first. You would be happy
that how much you would save by doing book price comparison.

Buy Used Books and Used Textbooks

It's becoming more and more popular to buy used books and used textbooks among
college students for saving. Different second hand books from different sellers
may have different conditions. Make sure to check used book condition from the
seller's description. Also many book marketplaces put books for sale from small
bookstores and individual sellers. Make sure to check store review for seller's
reputation if possible. If you are in a hurry to get a book or textbook for your
class, you should choose buying new books for prompt shipping.

Buy Books from Foreign Country

Our goal is to quickly find the cheapest books and college textbooks for you,
both new and used, from a large number of bookstores worldwide. Currently our
book search engines fetch book prices from US, Canada, UK, New Zealand, Australia,
Netherlands, France, Ireland, Germany, and Japan. More bookstores from other countries
will be added soon. Before buying from a foreign book store or book shop, be sure
to check the shipping options. It's not unusual that shipping could take two to
three weeks and cost could be multiple of a domestic shipping charge.